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Franklin Lakes Public Schools
School News and Views December, 2015
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Dear Community Members,
December is here, although there are few signs of winter outside just yet. I have been attending winter concerts and late fall activities in the schools, and can tell you that our children are doing amazing things.
In this month's issue of School News and Views, you will find articles about a new initiative called FAMS: A Closer Look, community service at CRS, the Day of Code at HMR, and Election Day happenings at WAS. You will also read about PARCC, planning for next year's school budget, and some interesting things about STEM and Technology.
The District's last Strategic Planning session took place on November 20, 2015 and the results from all three sessions are posted on our District Website. We will have a presentation by the New Jersey School Boards Association, the group that facilitated the process, at a Board of Education meeting in early February 2016.
On December 15, 2015, I made a presentation to the Board of Education, recommending an extension to our Kindergarten program to 5 full days per week. The Board of Education will consider my recommendation at our January 26, 2016 meeting. If you would like to learn more about the recommendation, there are two documents posted under News Releases on our District website, including a white paper on the subject and my presentation slides. You can also listen to the presentation by accessing the pod cast of the December 15th meeting on the District website.
Finally, I would like to remind everyone that our schools are places where the health, safety, and well-being of our students, staff and visitors are highly valued. The culture of caring we develop in our schools is a means by which we teach our children how best to treat one another, and to respect themselves and others. As adults, we know and understand that the world outside often runs at a frantic pace and that, all too often, we encounter those who do not take the feelings or needs of others into account. It is very important that we remember that our children learn by watching and listening to what we say and do. Please help us to preserve our culture of caring, and to set a good example for our students, not only in this season of peace, but all year long.
I hope you enjoy this edition of School News & Views, and wish you all a wonderful holiday season.
Sincerely,
Lydia Furnari, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools |
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District News
Curriculum & Instruction: Getting to Know PARCC Scores
This month, families of students in grades 4-8 who took the Spring 2015 PARCC assessments in English Language Arts and Mathematics will receive their Individual Score Reports. These reports, combined with other measures of student classroom performance, provide helpful information regarding a student's overall educational experience, and contribute to the bigger picture of his or her academic success and progress.
Additionally, mock PARCC score reports will be mailed to families of grades 4-8 students who did not participate in the Spring 2015 PARCC assessments. This separate mailing is intended to help families understand the information the PARCC assessment yields about student performance.
A number of resources are recommended to support families in the interpretation of this data. A selection of these include:
Technology: Sharing FAMS' 1-1 Laptop Implementation Success with Fellow School Districts
The New Jersey Educational Computing Cooperative (http://www.njecc.org/) is a not-for-profit organization consisting of approximately 110 New Jersey school districts. Its mission is  to promote and support the integration of technology in K-12 education as it applies to student learning, professional development, leadership and instructional planning. At the organization's November meeting, Mr. Colon, 8th grade Social Studies teacher, presented on the meeting topic of 1-to-1 Laptop Initiatives to an audience of approximately 100 members. Mr. Colon's presentation focused on professional development and assessment in a successful 1-to-1 implementation.
Mr. Colon described the ongoing and sustainable professional development that occurred around FAMS' laptop initiative. Teachers began the first year of the initiative by self-assessing their level of technology integration, based on a Technology Integration Matrix, as part of their professional development plan. Throughout the school year, teachers presented their best practices of technology integration at each faculty meeting and then offered follow-up, after-school workshops. Many of the FAMS teachers attended these voluntary workshops to enhance or expand their skills. At the end of the school year, when the teachers reevaluated their level of integration on the matrix, a marked increase in the effective use of technology in their classrooms was noted.
Mr. Colon then went on to explain that, in the second year of the initiative, FAMS teachers began to report on students' progress in mastering technology skills, as defined in the 2014 NJ Core Curriculum Content Standard in Technology, 8.1, via report cards. Beyond helping students to master the technology skills embedded in the curriculum, this valuable feedback will also show parents/guardians how technology comes to life in the classroom in students' hands.
Mr. Colon's thorough presentation was very well received as a model for a successful 1-1 laptop implementation. Audience members posed a number of questions and were welcomed to use FAMS' experience as a resource for planning in their districts.
Business & Operations: Audit Success
Mr. Michael Solokas, Business Administrator, is pleased to announce that the Franklin Lakes School District has succesfully completed the 2014/2015 audit conducted by Nisivoccia & Company. Results were presented to the BOE at the December 15th meeting. Based on those sound results, the auditing firm had no recommendations for the 2015 Corrective Plan.
Special Services: Sharing Knowledge Ms. Denise Borgess, Dyslexia Specialist and Orton Gillingham Teacher Trainer, and Mrs. Annette Dalton, a certified Orton Gillingham Teacher, presented a Professional Development  afternoon on Dyslexia in November. This training fulfilled the state requirement that all special education teachers, Kindergarten through Grade 3 teachers, Child Study Team members, Speech Therapists, CSI teachers and the ESL teacher receive training in this area. There were two sessions - one at the Elementary level and one for the Special Education teachers at the middle school. This Dyslexia Training focused on simulation activities to provide real situations for teachers to understand how students with Dyslexia and learning disabilities experience academic tasks in their classrooms. Participants in the training came away with a new sense of how challenging dyslexic students' daily work can be. This opportunity was valuable for teachers to provide strategies and alter expectations when working with their struggling students.
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FAMS News
FAMS is truly a wonderful place for children and our staff does a phenomenal job, offering an array of innovative and exciting programs. In order to provide the community with a glimpse into the world of FAMS, we plan to provide various videos of classroom activities throughout the school year. Our first video comes from Mr. Seth Livesey and the TV Media course offered to all 8th grade students, known more popularly as FAMS Live. Mr. Livesey graduated from Kutztown University in 2004 with a degree in Electronic Media and has been teaching in Franklin Lakes for 11 years. The TV studio is a state of the art facility equipped with High Definition capabilities, made possible through generous grants by the Franklin Lakes Education Foundation and District funds. Students in this class are given the opportunity to experience several different roles over the course of one marking period as well as provide the morning announcements on a daily basis. Mr. Livesey created FAMS Live over 10 years ago; today, green screen technology is used to create the live production each morning.
Please click here and enjoy our first installment of FAMS: A Closer Look.
To view the FAMS Live show each morning, please click here.
FAMS: Students Called By NASA!
On Monday, October 20, 2015 NASA announced a new initiative to find, track, and potentially relocate asteroids that might be on a collision course with Earth. The agency estimates it already has found up to 98 percent of the large asteroids, 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) in diameter or larger with orbits that pass relatively close to Earth. An object of this size could end civilization on this planet as we know it if it struck, similar to the global environmental changes that followed the asteroid impact 65 million years ago that led to the demise of the dinosaurs and most other life on Earth at that time.
Through this space science curricular unit, students were presented with the scenario that an asteroid will impact the Earth. Their challenge was to work in teams to design a way to divert the path of the asteroid so that it would
 miss hitting the Earth. Driven by this adventure scenario, student teams:1) explored general size and speed of asteroids, 2) determined the necessary angle of deflection, 3) learned about protractors, 4) tested missile launchers, 5) identified successful trials and retests, and 6) chose a final distance and angle from Earth.
The Mission Asteroid unit, created by Mr. Parr, provided a project framework in which student groups acted as engineering teams to design a way to divert asteroids from Earth, following the steps of the engineering design process. Thanks to the hard work of our FAMS students, the mission was a success!
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CRS News
CRS: It Takes Heart to be a Hero
Mrs. Scutti, our physical education teacher, and our CRS students are so pleased to announce that, i n conjunction with National Eating Healthy Day,  our students recently participated in The American Heart Association's "Hoops for Heart." This basketball program is promoted throughout the country to raise awareness for healthy living as well as to support patients with heart conditions. The main mission is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. That single purpose drives all efforts behind this amazing organization "Hoops for Heart." We are so thrilled to announce that our CRS students were able to raise $660 and enjoyed a day filled with basketball challenges. Congratulations to all participants on a job well done for a worthy cause! We thank everyone at CRS for fulfilling our school motto of "Together We Can."
CRS: Caring Community Thanksgiving Food Drive
As we cherish our blessings, we also took the time to remember those less fortunate. On November 20th the CRS PTA Caring Community organized a school-wide effort to raise Thanksgiving Meals for the Center for Food Action
 in Mahwah. CRS families worked diligently to donate a complete Thanksgiving meal for several families so that those in need would have the opportunity to celebrate with a hearty meal. We are thrilled to report that all in all, CRS contributed almost 100 turkeys and countless meals. We thank everyone at CRS for fulfilling our school motto of "Together We Can".
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HMR News
HMR: Hour of Code
 HMR celebrated the Hour of Code in our Think Station! Students in 2nd through 5th grades participated in computer science lessons that focused on problem solving. What is the Hour of Code? It is a worldwide movement to teach students how to use code to tell the computer what to do! Most importantly, coding teaches students about thinking and problem solving.
Students used a variety of strategies to write code and were able to view the
 Java Script they were creating. HMR students participated by creating code to manipulate Minecraft (grades 3-5) and Angry Birds(grade 2) following tutorials with guest speakers including Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Ruchi Sanghvi, Susan Wojcicki, and Elena Silenok. Our students are excited about this new skill and might even ask you to let them code at home. There are many more tutorials they can explore to go beyond the Hour of Code. Check them out here. HMR: Spanish Expressions
Fifth Graders have had the opportunity to study Spanish for multiple years and are learning to apply their knowledge consistently in conversational language. These students worked in their Spanish classes to continue the annual tradition of making "feelings" posters to display all year in the classroom. Created with great imagination and detail, the posters serve as anchor charts in the classroom and encourage students in multiple grades to express how they feel in much more detail during Spanish class.
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WAS News
WAS: Election Day
Woodside continued its tradition of making Election Day important for all students. Like our parents and other adult residents of New Jersey, we had an opportunity to cast our vote. This year, all students voted for the activities that will take place during Woodside's very first Kids' Choice Spirit Week, which will occur this Spring.
As fifth graders, we enjoyed taking an important role in our school election.  To start the election process, the fifth grade classes brainstormed relevant topics for voting. After determining an exciting topic for our election, fifth graders brainstormed a list of activities that children of all grade levels would be able to participate in during a Spirit Week. Fifteen of those activities made the final ballot, from which students would be invited to select their top five choices.
As Election Day approached, we promoted the upcoming election. Fifth graders visited classrooms in each grade to talk about the school election, and to give more information about each of the activities they would be voting on. Several students made announcements on the loud speaker in the days leading up to the election and the fifth graders also made posters to hang in the hallway to advertise for the election.
We want to thank the PTA for providing such an authentic experience at our very own voting location. The voting booth, decorations, stickers, and sign-in process helped make this both an enjoyable and educational experience.
WAS: Fourth Grade Veterans Day
On Veterans Day, our Fourth Graders learned about the sacrifices that veterans make for our country and freedom. As the culminating activity,
students created a "Thank You" letter to a veteran. We laminated these notes and sent them to the Montrose, New York VA Campus Hospital where they are displayed at the check-in desk for all to read.
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PTA News
Please note: players do not need a ticket.
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